Yes, a Vermont association can lien your unit or lot, and eventually foreclose, even if your mortgage is current. Section 3-116(a) gives the association 'a statutory lien on a unit for any assessment attributable to that unit or fines imposed against its unit owner,' along with attorney's fees, late charges, and interest — meaning fines and dues are both secured the same way. The lien is perfected the moment the declaration itself is recorded; there's no separate certificate of lien to file, and it's prior to almost everything except liens recorded before the declaration, a first mortgage recorded before the assessment went delinquent, and real estate tax liens. The lien isn't permanent, either: § 3-116(f) extinguishes it if the association doesn't start proceedings to enforce it within three years of the full assessment becoming due.
Foreclosure itself runs through Vermont's general real estate foreclosure statute, 12 V.S.A. chapter 172 — a judicial process, not a private trustee's sale — so you'll have an actual court case and a deadline to answer before you can lose the unit. Section 3-116(h) also cuts both ways: the prevailing party in a lien enforcement action, not just the association, is entitled to an award of reasonable attorney's fees and costs, so a wrongly filed lien carries real downside for the board.
The payment-plan wall and the fines-alone rule
This is Vermont's real protection, and it's specific: § 3-116(m) says an association 'may not commence an action to foreclose a lien on a unit' unless the unit owner, at the time the action is filed, owes at least three months of common-expense assessments and has failed to accept or comply with a payment plan the association offered, and the executive board has specifically voted to foreclose against that unit. No three-month arrears, no offered plan, or no board vote targeting your specific unit, and the foreclosure filing itself is defective. Section 3-116(o) adds a second, separate wall: unless what you owe includes an actual unpaid assessment, the association can't foreclose at all until it already holds a money judgment against you and has perfected a judgment lien. In plain terms, a balance made up only of fines and fees can't fast-track you into foreclosure the way unpaid dues can; the association has to win a lawsuit first.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
27A V.S.A. § 3-116(a)
Gives the association a statutory lien covering both unpaid assessments and unpaid fines, perfected automatically when the declaration is recorded.
27A V.S.A. § 3-116(m)
Bars a foreclosure action unless the owner is at least three months behind on assessments, has failed to accept or comply with an offered payment plan, and the board specifically voted to foreclose that unit.
27A V.S.A. § 3-116(o)
Bars foreclosure over a balance that doesn't include an unpaid assessment (fines and fees alone) unless the association already holds a money judgment and a perfected judgment lien.
27A V.S.A. § 3-116(f)
Extinguishes the lien if the association doesn't institute proceedings to enforce it within three years of the assessment becoming due.
Step by step
How to respond to a Vermont HOA or condo lien notice
Steps to take when you learn an association has recorded, or intends to enforce, a lien for unpaid assessments or fines in Vermont.
- 01
Get the itemized statement
Request, in writing, the statement of unpaid assessments the association must provide under § 3-116(i) within 10 business days. Separate what's a real assessment from fines, late charges, interest, and attorney's fees.
- 02
Check whether the balance includes a real assessment
If your balance is only fines and fees with no unpaid assessment behind it, § 3-116(o) bars foreclosure until the association already holds a money judgment against you and a perfected judgment lien. That's a real, checkable fact, not a technicality.
- 03
Confirm the three-month and payment-plan preconditions
Section 3-116(m) requires you to be at least three months behind on assessments and to have refused or failed a payment plan the association offered, plus a specific board vote to foreclose your unit, before a foreclosure action can even start.
- 04
Check whether the lien has gone stale
Confirm the association started enforcement within three years of the assessment becoming due. Section 3-116(f) extinguishes a lien the association sits on too long.
- 05
Get a Vermont attorney before the court deadline
Because foreclosure runs through 12 V.S.A. chapter 172 in court, you'll have a real case with an answer deadline. Talk to counsel while you still have time, and remember § 3-116(h) lets a prevailing owner recover attorney's fees too.
Straight answers
Common questions
Can a Vermont HOA or condo association really foreclose on my home?
Yes, but only through court. Section 3-116 gives the association a lien for unpaid assessments and fines, and foreclosure runs through Vermont's general real estate foreclosure statute, 12 V.S.A. chapter 172, not a private sale.
Can they foreclose over unpaid fines alone, with no missed dues?
Not directly. Section 3-116(o) bars foreclosure over a balance that doesn't include an actual unpaid assessment unless the association already holds a money judgment against you and has perfected a judgment lien. Fines alone don't fast-track a foreclosure filing.
Does the association have to offer me a payment plan before foreclosing?
In effect, yes. Section 3-116(m) bars a foreclosure action unless you're at least three months behind on assessments and have failed to accept or comply with a payment plan the association offered, plus a specific board vote to foreclose your unit.
How long does the association have to act on a lien?
Three years. Section 3-116(f) extinguishes the lien if the association doesn't institute proceedings to enforce it within three years after the full assessment becomes due.